Briefs

March 25, 2006

HS BASKETBALLBalance to Northland team Oregon Davis, Argos, and Marquette each grabbed an equal share of the girls basketball All-Northland Conference first team honors with two each. Honored were Amberly O'Dell and Desiree Gilbert of Argos, Aubrey Minix and Heather Kranenburg of Oregon-Davis, and Marquette's Michelle Fletcher and Megan Fletcher. Rounding out the first team was Elkhart Christian's Lindsey Swaim. Second team: Kelsie Hollabaugh (A), Taylor Van Sickle (WV), Chelsey Miller (EC), Mikal Minarich (River Forest), Angel Lewis (WV). O-D leads Northland boys Oregon-Davis claimed three first-team spots on the All-Northland Conference boys basketball team with Brandon Johnston, Shaun Johnston and Nathan Ferch. Westville grabbed first-team spots with Mark Mosier and Jeff Wozniak. Rounding out the first team was Taylor Hulse of Argos. Second team: Zach Shafer (A), David Ticknor (Marquette), Caleb Reinking (Elk. Christian), John Leonard (M), Chris Hovan (EC), Nathan Parker (River Forest). COLLEGE SOCCERIrish exhibitions set The Notre Dame men's soccer team will face Mexico's under-17 team on Friday, April 21 at 7 p.m., while the Irish women will battle the Mexican national team for the sixth straight spring on the following Friday, April 28 at 7. Tickets for each day are $5 for adults and $2 for youth, with Notre Dame faculty, staff and students admitted free of charge. Tickets are available at the Joyce Center ticket office, with phone orders accepted at (574) 631-7356. COLLEGE FOOTBALLBack pain shelves Booty John David Booty, the leading contender to succeed quarterback Matt Leinart at Southern California, might miss the rest of spring practice with back spasms and could need surgery. Booty, who has two years of eligibility remaining, was injured during USC's first spring workout Tuesday and his back locked up Wednesday. He did not attend practice Thursday. "Surgery may be down the road," USC coach Pete Carroll said. "It's not at all the time to do that. If after about two weeks he hasn't responded, then (team doctors) have to think more seriously about what the next step is." Booty and freshman Mark Sanchez, who was redshirted last season, are contending to replace Leinart, who guided USC to a 37-2 record as a three-year starter. Carroll said Booty's injury won't impact the quarterback competition. "I don't have to make any decisions because when we started out, John David was well ahead of Mark," Carroll said. "It couldn't happen at a better time." Booty appeared in 10 games last season, completing 27 of 42 passes for 417 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions. AUTO RACINGIRL, Champ Car mending The rift that has scarred the popularity and prestige of American open-wheel racing for more than a decade may finally be on the mend, with the heads of the rival IRL and Champ Car World Series confirming Friday that they are talking about unification. Indy Racing League founder Tony George and Kevin Kalkhoven, co-owner of the Champ Car World Series, have recently struck up a friendship that has led to the informal talks. Replying to recent published reports about so-called merger talks, George acknowledged that he and Kalkhoven have been talking "fairly frequently" since running into each other at a ski resort in December. "I think (an agreement) is certainly possible, but I think we're a long way from there at this point," George said. NBAMashburn to retire Forward Jamal Mashburn retired Friday, shortly after being waived by the Philadelphia 76ers. "I've had a long career in the NBA and have enjoyed my experience," Mashburn said. Mashburn never suited up for the 76ers after being acquired from the New Orleans Hornets in 2005. In a swap of inactive players, the 76ers traded Glenn Robinson to the Hornets for Mashburn and Rodney Rodgers. Mashburn spent all of last season on the injured list with a knee injury and has been inactive all of this year. "I look forward to retirement life," Mashburn said. "It's been a great time. I've learned a lot, but now it's time to move on." Mashburn averaged 19.1 points and 5.4 rebounds a game over 11 seasons with three teams. He was an All-Rookie team selection in 1994 with the Dallas Mavericks and a third-team All-NBA selection in 2003 with the New Orleans Hornets. Brawl case begins A trial began in Rochester Hills, Mich., Friday for the man accused of tossing a cup at Indiana Pacers forward Ron Artest, sparking a brawl between Indiana Pacers players and Detroit Pistons fans at The Palace of Auburn Hills. John Green, 41, of Oakland County's West Bloomfield Township, is charged with two counts of misdemeanor assault and battery. He is the only person with a case still pending in the Nov. 19, 2004 brawl. In opening statements Friday before District Court Judge Lisa Asadoorian, Assistant Prosecutor Paul Walton said Green intentionally threw the cup, sparking one of the worst brawls in U.S. sports history. And Walton noted to the jury that it all was caught on tape. "You will be able to place yourself there," Walton said. But defense lawyer Shawn Smith said his client never meant to hit Artest with the cup. And he said Green, who also is accused of striking Artest from behind with a fist, defended another man after Artest went into the stands. TENNISMoya ousts Nadal Mentor Carlos Moya gave protege Rafael Nadal another lesson Friday. Overcoming a slow start, Moya won the matchup of close friends from Mallorca, 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 in the second round of the Nasdaq-100 Open in Key Biscayne, Fla. The elimination of last year's runner-up opens up the half of the draw already missing six-time champion Andre Agassi. The No. 10-seeded Agassi withdrew before his opening match because of chronic back trouble. No. 3 Justine Henin-Hardenne was the first seeded woman to depart. Meghann Shaughnessy upset the Belgian 7-5, 6-4. No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo, a semifinalist last year, needed only 44 minutes to eliminate Samantha Stosur 6-0, 6-0. No. 24 Martina Hingis earned the latest win in her comeback from a three-year layoff, beating qualifier Tian Tian Sun 6-3, 6-2. The match was the first since 2002 at Key Biscayne for Hingis, who won the title in 1997 and 2000. COLLEGE SWIMMINGBulfin places 18th Michael Bulfin placed 18th in the preliminaries of the three-meter diving competition during the second day of the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in Atlanta Friday with 293.20 points. COLLEGE TENNISIrish blitz Hawkeyes Notre Dame's second-ranked women's tennis team beat Iowa, 6-1, Friday in the Eck Tennis Pavilion to improve to 16-0 for the first time in the 30-year varsity history of the program. The Irish are one of only three Division I teams that remain unbeaten. SINGLES: No. 1: Catrina Thompson (ND) def. Meg Racette 6-1, 6-3; No. 2: Christian Thompson (ND) def. Hillary Mintz 6-1, 5-7, 1-0 (10-5); No. 3: Brook Buck (ND) def. Milica Veselinovic 2-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-3); No. 4: Jacqueline Lee (I) def. Kelcy Tefft 6-4, 7-5; No. 5: Kristina Stastny (ND) def. Krissy Dowlin 6-3, 6-1; No. 6: Katie Potts (ND) def. Merel Beelen 6-1, 6-2. DOUBLES: No. 1: Thompson/Thompson (ND) def. Lee/Racette 8-2; No. 2: Buck/Tefft (ND) def. Kayla Berry/Mintz 8-4; No. 3: Dowlin/Veselinovic (I) def. Lauren Connelly/Stastny 8-7 (9-7). SPEEDSKATINGKlassen sets record Canadian Cindy Klassen broke the 1,000-meter speedskating record Friday in Calgary, finishing in 1 minute, 13.46 seconds to beat the mark set in 2002 by American Chris Witty. Witty's record was 1:13:83. Klassen, who won five medals at the Turin Olympics, also won the 500 meters Friday at the Olympic Oval. Klassen now holds the world record in the 1,000, 1,500 and 3,000. She broke her own record in the 3,000 last weekend at the ISU world speedskating championships.